| Blog series by Jon Spelbring | updated 72 days ago | 8 parts | 1562 reads | 48 comments total |
Part 1: In the beginning...
We bought an old bungalow in 2003. I knew nothing about woodworking, and very little about home repair. Our “new” house was built in 1918, and had spend the last 5 years or so as section 8 housing. Let’s just say that it “needed some work”. So, as the rehab progressed, so did my interest in woodworking. I set up a small area in the unfinished basement for my workshop. As time went by, and tools were bought, I took over more and more space, much to the disma...
Part 2: A disaster waiting to unhappen
The garage measured about 22’ wide by 20’ deep. The outside was covered with old asphalt shingles that were supposed to resemble brick. The right door (and hardware) was missing, and the windows were mostly broken out. The entry door on the side was faced with old plywood. On the inside, the walls were made of 10” wide planks, and the roof was a simple truss system. What I found interesting was that the horizontal pieces of the trusses (bottom) were all made of full le...
Part 3: What's Up?
I can’t find a pic of the new side door, but that’s OK, it doesn’t take much imagination: white, steel, doorknob, dead bolt. That’s about it. I won’t miss the paddlock that I had been using. So, the outside is coming along nicely, the wind isn’t whipping through the place, and I’ve made several hundred mud dauber wasps homeless. On to the next set of problems. When I started, there was a partition wall running down the middle of the garage, an...
Part 4: Power to the People
Yesterday was a great day. The electrical inspector came (again), and this time, I passed my rough in inspection. Better still, late last week, the electric company came and actually got me online. Now, the back story. I did hire an electrician to install the new panel, and to tie in what I had wired myself (fist time!). Once the electrician was done, I called the inspector, and he… well, he inspected. The good news was that the panel passed, and the electric company could conn...
Part 5: A roof over my head
Whew! I’ve been one busy shop builder. Let’s see, where to begin? At the top, I suppose. I decided to use drywall for the ceiling (after putting up some insulation, of course). The ceiling framing is just 2×4, so I wasn’t able to use as heavy an isulation as I would have liked. I’ll try it out this year, and if I’m using too much energy for heat and AC, maybe I’ll blow some more in. Given the dimensions 19’ deep by 22’ wide, I ...
Part 6: Just another brick in the wall
OK, I lied. There are no bricks. There are however, walls. OSB walls to be exact. Oh, and shiny stuff. Let me back up a bit. The “walls” in the old garage were 2×4, spaced every-so-often. No real “on-center” here. That, and some thoughtful placement of 45 degree cross supports pretty much limited my insulation choices to:1. spray foam2. netting and blown in 3. Something Different I went with Something Different. I’ve already got (working from th...
Part 7: Happy Feet
It was a cute movie, but that’s not the point. The point is that after working in my old basement shop, and building this new shop, my feet are anything but happy. Concrete hurts my feet (and my knees for that matter). I decided early on that I would have some kind of “not-concrete” floor in the new shop. The existing garage floor wasn’t in horrible shape, but it wasn’t great. There were a few cracks, and a couple of mini-potholes. I looked at several opt...
Part 8: So cool, it's hot!
OK, this will probably be the last entry in this series for awhile. I’ll post some pics in my Workshop area once I have everything moved, and the shop set up. So, what’s left? I have a ceiling, electricity, lights, walls, doors, and a floor. Comfort. That’s right boys and girls. I don’t like to sweat it out in 90+ degrees with 90%+ humidity such as we have here in the St. Louis area in summer time. Nor do I like having to bundle up like the Michelin man, jus...
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